WELLINGTON: Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards underwent brain surgery in New Zealand to treat a blood clot after sustaining head injuries while on holiday last month, a report said on May 8.

Richards, who reportedly fell out of a coconut tree in Fiji, was earlier said to have suffered only mild concussion.

The New Zealand Herald newspaper quoted an anonymous source as saying Richards was still in New Zealand following an operation to treat a blood clot in the outer membranes of the brain. The operation was performed soon after he arrived in New Zealand from Fiji for treatment, it quoted the source as saying.

Richards, 62, was in hospital from April 27 until May 2. His US-based publicist has been quoted as saying he was in good spirits and would join the band in Barcelona on May 27 for the next leg of their world tour. — AFP